Machine for interleaving folded sheet material



July 27, 1954' MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL.

Filed Aug. 1 0, 1949 a) z I z 0 49 o l J INVENTOR. dew/.9 C. PEARCEflrra vsys L. C. PEARCE July 27, 1954 MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDEDSHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 10, 1949 l3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 4 ZEW/J'C". PEA/res '2 BY :2

July 27, 1954 L. C. PEARCE MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEETMATERIAL Filed Aug. 10, 1949 15 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV EN TOR. lsw/s C Pam-5BY @174, @1 Q/ W J 4am:

Arrae/vs s I I. IlllIl-L n July 27, 1954 L. C. PEARCE MACHINE FORINTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 10 1949 15 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. dew/s C P'A/PCE W Q 9%, fiMfiua/rwu Arr NEXS July 27, 1954 L.c. PEARCE 2,684,848 MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL FiledAug. 10, 1949 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 JNVENTOR. ZEW/S C. Psnece 7 mm 4770 N575L. C. PEARCE July 27, 1954 15 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 10 1949 m 5. R MA E Q m A N V T w. a Q u S w -i fa? w a i Ema FEL lllllul-IL LEI Y 6 Wmam E B 9% llllllllllll fl w@ 0% 0% \ON July 27, 1954 L. c. PEARCE2,684,848

MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 10 1949 13Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. LE w/s C. PEARCE July 27, 1954 c. PEARCE2,684,848

MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 10, 1949 13Sheets-Sheet 8 73 ,7 ill I 77/ ,5 5/2 1 t g f I 5/3 5/2., 1' E I! I: I673 5/3 H /5 2W i E 5/ 4: I I

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INVENTOR.

LEW/s C. flames BY 8 Arr-019M575 L. C. PEARCE July 27, 1954 MACHINE FORINTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL l3 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Aug. 10,1949 II II INVENTOR. Z5 w/s' C. Pewrce [WW-4 Q mp wfi Ar Nays July 27,1954. I L. C(PEARCE Q 2,684,848

MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. '10, 1949 15Sheets-Sheet 11 =4 I v 8/ p 3 436 o INVENIOR. ZW/S 6.. Panza-s y 7, 1954c. PEARCE" 2,684,848

MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 10 1949 15Sheets-Sheet l2 v INVENTOR. [6 W16 (3 flwkc' Arr-a July 27, 1954 L. c.PEARCE I MACHINE FOR INTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL.

1s sheets-sheet 13 Filed Aug. 10, 1949 INVENTOR. [aw/s CZ Penn's Pommhmm (mm I Patented July 27, 1954 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE MACHINE FORINTERLEAVING FOLDED SHEET MATERIAL Lewis 0. Pearce, Berea,

Pearce Development Co a corporation of Ohio Ohio, assignor to The mpany,Cleveland, Ohio,

23 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a machine for interleavingfolded sheet material. The invention in some of its aspects is ofgeneral application to machines and methods for collating folded sheetmaterial. However it has special utility in machines for assembling anenvelope within a fold of a greeting card, repeating this operationrapidly, and collecting and delivering the envelope and card units ingroups each of a predetermined number of units.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of mechanical meansfor performing the interleaving operation with certainty and at highspeed.

Another object is the provision of a machine in which a plurality offeeding conveyors are disposed on one side of the machine in parallelrelation to the delivery conveyor on the opposite side thereof, thefeeding conveyors at their forward ends and the delivery conveyor at itsrear end adjoining the transfer portion of the machine in which thesheets are collated and carried in a semicircular path over to thedelivery conveyor, in accordance with which the machine provides aU-shaped space within which an attendant may stand and have ready accessto the different parts of the machine.

Another object is the provision of a series of radial blades moving in avertical circular path for collating sheets from the feeding conveyors,carrying them upwardly and over to the delivery side of the machine, thefeeding conveyors being bodily adjustable to bring the folds of sheetsof different dimensions into radial positions corresponding with theforward edges of the blades when they engage the folds in the sheets.

Another object is the provision of means for stopping the machine when aparticular blade fails to receive or take a sheet from one or both ofthe conveyors.

Another object is the provision of means for causing a folded marker,such as an envelope of contrasting color, to be taken by a blade thathas failed to take interleaved sheets, so that a unit lacking anenvelope or a folded card will attract the attention of an attendant andenable her to insert the missing sheet by hand.

A further object is the provision of means for maintaining substantiallyconstant the pressure of packs of envelopes and folded cards at theforward ends of the feeding conveyors, whereby the means for opening theenvelope flaps or folds of the folded sheets can operate to the bestadvantage, the preferred driving mechanism for this purpose embodying anormally operative low speed gear train and a normally inoperative highspeed gear train, and means for throwing into operation the high speedtrain whenever the pack pressure falls to a predetermined extent.

Another object is the provision of means for receiving collated sheetsfrom the said rotating blades during their downward travel anddepositing them accurately on the delivery conveyor.

Another object is the provision of means for collecting the thusdeposited interleaved sheets in groups of a predetermined number on thedelivery conveyor and means for varying that number. Other objects andfeatures of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description ofthat embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the presentapplication, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of the machine as a whole.

Figs. 2 and 3 together constitute an end elevation of the machinelooking in the direction of arrow A Fig. l, the illustration beingpartly diagrammatic and partly in section.

Figs. 4 and 5 together constitute an end elevation looking in thedirection of arrow B Fig. 1, the casing of the machine being broken awayto better disclose the mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation, looking in the direction of arrow CFig. 1, partly in section and partly broken away, showing the upper orcard feed conveyor.

Fig. '7 is a view taken substantially on the line l? of Fig. 2 showingthe lower or envelope feed conveyor.

Fig. 8 is a vertical detail sectional view taken the forward end of theupper feed conveyor. Fig. 9 is an elevational view, partly broken awayand partly in section, looking in the direction of arrow D Fig. 1,illustrating the delivery conveyor and the means for depositing collatedsheets thereupon.

Fig. 10 is an end elevational View, partly in section on the line Hi-ifiof Fig.

Fig. 11 is a fragmental plan view, partly broken away, of the deliveryconveyor.

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the lineli-IZ of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a similar view taken substantially on the line Iii-i3 of Fig.11.

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view on a larger scale, taken substantiallyon the line l4- l4 of Fig. 12.

Figs. l5, l6 and 17 are diagrams showing different adjustments of thedelivery conveyor chains for spacing the posts dividing the conveyorinto compartments of different sizes.

Fig. 18 is a detail view, partly in section of means for shifting thedrive for a forwarding conveyor from low speed to high speed and viceversa.

Fig. 19 is a detail view of cam operated oscillating means for liftingfingers into position behind the forward fold of a folded sheet in timedrelation with other operations of the machine.

Fig. 20 is a detail view of means for closing a control circuit when anadvancing transfer blade fails to take a second folded sheet, or morespecifically to cover an envelope with a greeting card.

Fig. 21 is a detail plan view, partly in section on the line 2l-2l ofFig. 9.

Fig. 22 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line2222 of Fig. 21.

Fig. 23 is a diagrammatic elevational view illustrating mechanism forwithdrawing the front page of a folded sheet by suction to permit atransferring blade to enter behind that page.

Fig. 2% is a diagrammatic detail view at right angles to that of Fig.19.

Fig. 25 is a diagrammatic elevational view illustrating mechanism forpresenting a folded marker to a blade which has missed one or both ofthe folded sheets presented by the two feed conveyors.

Fig. 26 is a perspective view of the holder for the folded markers andmeans set in motion by the mechanism of Fig. 25 for applying suction todraw a flap of the marker envelope into the path of the moving blade.

Fig. 27 is a diagrammatic elevational view of delayed action mechanismfor shifting a control for the folded card conveyor to speed up theaction of the drive for the conveyor through a predetermined number ofcycles of the machine or a multiple of that number.

Fig. 28 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line EB-3of Fig. 27.

Fig. 29 is a fragmental elevational view of the upper feed conveyor,showing the impeller above that conveyor.

Fig. 30 is a detail view showing a trigger actuating cam and a pair ofmasks for use alternatively with said cam to determine the frequency ofthe trigger actions effective upon the posts of the delivery conveyor.

Fig. 31 is a detail view of a delivery conveyor adjusting means.

Fig. 32 is a plan view of the forward end of the card feed conveyor, and

Fig. 33 is a wiring diagram,

The general arrangement of the machine is best illustrated in Fig. l ofthe drawing where the lower and the upper feed conveyors are indicatedgenerally by the reference characters 39 and 3i. These conveyors carrypacks of folded sheets on edge, in the illustrated case envelopes inconveyor 30 and four page greeting cards in conveyor 3i. In the transferportion of the machine generally indicated at 32, there are a series ofevenly spaced metal blades 33 radially disposed in a revolving wheel 3d.These blades receive envelopes and folded cards taken from the feedconveyors in that order as the blades travel upwardly. These collatedsheets are carried upwardly and over the top of the wheel. As the bladesmove downwardly they release the col lated sheets to downwardlytraveling belts later to be described, by which the collated units aregrasped and carried vertically downward, being deposited on a deliveryconveyor generally indicated at 35. The delivery conveyor carries thecollated units on edge in groups of a predetermined number, the unitsmoving forward in compartments constituted by posts 36 which move alongsteadily through slots formed in the delivery table. An attendantsitting at the table removes the groups of units and packs them incontainers for shipment, the contents of a certain number ofcompartments making up a counted quantity.

Referring first to the lower feed conveyor 30, this conveyor comprises apair of shafts 4E] and Al mounted in bearings in a frame 35) which isadjustable upwardly and downwardly upon a pair of inclined posts 42constituting a part of the machine frame. Each of the posts 42 has arack 43 attached thereto, and with these racks pinions 4t mesh. Thesepinions are keyed to a shaft 55 which also has a worm wheel it keyedthereto. A worm 41 meshing with worm wheel it is keyed at one end of atransverse shaft 48 upon which is mounted a hand wheel 49. Guides 50C-shaped in cross-section, and secured to frame 39 embrace posts 42. ASthe hand wheel s9 is turned in one direction or the other the frame 39moves upwardly or downwardly in a direction which is perpendicular to aradius from a shaft 5! upon which the wheel 34 turns.

The two shafts EB, 4i carry rollers over which run a plurality ofconveyor belts 52. Each of these shafts also carries a bevel gear 53which meshes with another bevel gear 54 at the lower end of a shaft 55journaled in frame 39. Upon these two shafts 55 are rollers 56, and overthese rollers there runs an endless belt 5?. The belts 52 and the belt5? together form a moving trough for the support of a pack of envelopesor other folded sheets E. These belts all travel forward at the samespeed by virtue of a pulley 58 on one end of shaft s1 driven by a V-belt59 or the like. A weighted block 60 may be placed at the rear end of thepack of sheets or envelopes E to maintain them on edge in verticalplanes as the conveyor travels forward.

The second conveyor, generally indicated at 3 l, is disposed above theconveyor 3t and has a level surface. This conveyor is mounted onvertical posts 6i rigid with the machine frame, for adjustment in amanner similar to that provided for conveyor 36. The frame 62 of theupper conveyor carries elongated C-shaped guides 63 which embrace theposts 6! and racks fi l fastened to those posts. A shaft 65 is journaledin frame 82 and carries pinions G6 which mesh with the racks. On theshaft there is also mounted a worm wheel 61 which meshes with a worm 5?,on a transverse shaft 69 journaled in frame 62 and carrying a hand wheelis. As the wheel is is turned in one direction or the other, frame 62 isadjusted up or down upon the vertical posts 6!.

In the frame 62 there are journaled two conveyor shafts H and 7'2 whichcarry rollers 13 over which run a plurality of endless belts l4. Shaft Hat one end carries a gear "i5 which meshes with a gear as on shaft 'i'i,Fig. 10. On the latter shaft there is a sprocket 18 for a chain 19 whichruns over a sprocket Be that is keyed to a shaft Bl which carries asecond sprocket 82. A second chain 83 runs over this latter sprocket anda sprocket 84 on a shaft 85 which is journaled in a horizontal framemember 56 of the machine. Two housings 81 and 88 enclose the chains 19and 83 and their sprockets, and are oscillatably mounted on the shaftsTI, Bl and 85. When the frame 62 of the upper feed conveyor is adjustedup or down as previously described, drive from 5I2 on shaft Eli? arenarrow in order that they may project upwardly between adjacent belts"M. Wheels or rollers 5I3 on shaft 5 are relatively broad. These wheelsH2 and 5I3 are driven at a surface speed somewhat higher than the speedof belts 14. They engage the unfolded edges of the sheets carried by theconveyor, break them apart if they are inclined to stick together, andurge them forward at least as far as the upper portions of the foldedsheets. The drive for these rubber faced wheels is effected in such away that the adjustment of the conveyor up and down does not interferewith the action of the drive.

As indicated in Fig. 32 there is supported in the frame in the samevertical plane with shaft "I2 and spaced axially therefrom, a shortshaft 5I5 carrying a pulley 5I6 over which runs a belt 9?. An arm 93pivoted at 99 to a fixed bracket 94 and biased downwardly by spring I00,carries two i-dlers E08 and I 02 over which the belt runs on its way toa pulley I03 mounted on a shaft which is journaled in bracket 94. Onthis same shaft a larger pulley IE4 is fixed and is driven by a belt I05 from any convenient rotating part ofthe machine. Obviously as theconveyor frame I4 is adjusted upwardly or downwardly the arm 38 swingson its pivot and the spring I takes up the slack in the belt.

On shaft l5 there is a spur gear 5I'l which meshesv with spur gears 5I8and 5I9 on shafts 5m and 5. Gear 5!! turns in the counterclockwisedirection, thereby driving both the gears 518 and 5I9 with their shaftsin the clockwise direction. As previously indicated shafts Eli] and 5are so mounted that the tops of the wheels 5; and 5I3 stand slightlyabove the upper surfaces of belts 74. Preferably the bearings for theseshafts are carried in supports which are adjustable vertically to alimited extent so as to vary the effect of the rubber surfaced wheelssomewhat if desired, more especially to compensate for wear on thesurfaces of the wheels.

Along one side of conveyor 3|, movable upwardly and downwardly with theframe 62, there is a side wall I03, Fig. 2, against which a side edge ofeach sheet abuts. At the forward end of the conveyor the sheets arejogged against wall I08 by conventional means not herein disclosed.

Greeting cards may vary considerably in thickness and may includeribbons and other accessories which appreciably increase their thicknessin certain areas. They are accordingly difiicult to maintain in goodorder when fed on edge. On this account partially I provide an impellermechanism arranged to engage the pack of sheets at intervals andtraveling forward with the con vcyor at conveyor speed. This impellermechanism will now be described.

Shaft 05 in addition to its mounting in the frame. member 86 extendsthrough and is journaled in a frame member I 0'! of I-beam crosssection.A similar shaft I08 is disposed at the forward end of the impeller. Onboth of these shafts two sprockets I09 are secured and carry a pair ofendlesschains I I0. At regularly spaced intervals these chains carrynarrow housings I I I In the upper run of the chains these housings restupon I-beam I01, while in the lower run they rest upon a T-bar II 2. Ineach housing there is a thin plate I I3 which may be slid from itsnormal position illustrated in Fig. 10 outwardly into position in thespace above conveyor 3I as indicated at I I3 in Fig. 2. Projections atthe two ends of plates I I3 prevent them from being moved out of thehousings I I I in either direction. When the conveyor 3| is being loadeda number of folded sheets is placed on the conveyor belts T3 and a plateI I3 is drawn out manually from its housing ill by the operator directlybehind the sheets so deposited. The next group of sheets is similarlyarranged on the conveyor and a second plate pulled out to hold them inposition on edge. This is continued until the conveyor is loadedsufiiciently for the time being. The conveyor belts M are driven fromthe impeller by the connections previously described, and at the samespeed. When a plate I I3 approaches the forward end of its travel a rodI20, which is reciprocated by a cam I'2I on shaft 5|, a follower I22 onthe rod and a retracting spring I23, causes a depending lip I34 on therod to engage a projection I35 on the plate and return the latter to itsoriginal position in its housing.

The drive for the impeller mechanism is transmitted to the shaft I08upon which the forward sprockets for chains I I 0 are fixed. This shaftI08 carries a split pulley II5 for a V-belt IIB which runs over a secondsplit pulley II! on a shaft 5 it journaled in the machine frame. Thehalves of these split pulleys H5 and Ill may be adiusted toward and awayfrom each other so as to vary the normal speed of shaft I08 withincertain limits.

Collatz'ng mechanism.-Under this heading I will describe the means forassembling an enve lope and folded greeting card, or their equivalents,on each upwardly moving revolving radial blade 33 and stripping the thusassembled units from the blades as they travel downwardly, the unitsbeing then collected in groups of a predetermined number on the deliveryconveyor.

The blades 33 as previously stated are slidably mounted in a wheel 34revolving with shaft 5I. This shaft carries a worm wheel I33 whichmeshes with a worm 531 that is pinned to a shaft I33. On its outerextremity this shaft has one or more pulleys I39 which are driven byV-belts I43 from small pulleys MI that are mounted on the output shaftof a gear reducer I42 which takes power from an electric motor I43.Adjacent to the re volving wheel 34 there is a fixed plate M4, Fig. 9,which is provided with tracks forming a box cam I45 in which travels afollower wheel ME that is mounted on the inner end of each blade. Forthe greater part of its length this box cam M5 is circular to cause theblades 33 to project a cons tant distance from the periphery of thewheel. On the down-going side of the wheel however, the cam track is soformed, a illustrated in Fig. 3, as

F to retract the blade rapidly into the wheel and then force itoutwardly again.

Above shaft I38 there is a shaft I 48 which extends across the entirewidth of the machine. It is driven by gears I49 and I 53. A diagonallydisposed shaft I5l takes its drive from shaft M3 by means of bevel gearsI52 and I53. A suction pump :54, Fig. 5, driven by a motor I55 induceslOw pressure in a reservoir I56 from which a flexible conductorI5l-leads to a T connection I 58, and thence by conductors I 59 and I60to positions adjacent the forward ends of the lower and upper conveyors3i! and 3i respectively. A shaft I6! parallel to shaft I5I is arrangedto be driven from the latter shaft normally through a low speed geartrain I62 and at times through a high speed gear train I63, and ineither case through a reducing gear box I64. The final gears I65 andtilt of the two trains I62 and I63 are free to turn relatively to theinput shaft IS! of gear box I6 1. A sleeve I68 slidably keyed to shaftIS? carries a disk 369 provided with friction material on both surfaces.Thus when the sleeve IE8 is shifted to the left, as viewed in Fig. 18,gear ltfi is frictionally connected with shaft I6! through theintermediacy of disk I59 and sleeve I88, and when the sleeve is shiftedtoward the right to provide frictional connection between disk I69 andgear let drive is communicated from that gear to shaft I61.

Sleeve I58 is shifted toward the left by tension spring Ilil workingupon a lever IlI pivoted to a stationary bracket I12 whenever a solenoidH3 is deenergized. On the other hand, when this solenoid i energized itpulls the lever HI to tl e right against the action of spring I'Hl,bringing disk I59 into frictional engagement with gear I68, therebyshifting from low speed to high speed. Shaft IBI carries a pulley I75over which the belt 59 runs. By the means indicated therefore theconveyor belts 5'2 and 51 of the lower conveyor are driven either atnormal speed or high speed, dependent upon the action of solenoid I13.

in a similar manner the driving speed of the impeller chains He and ofthe conveyor belts it is controlled by a solenoid Ill; working upon alever I'lI pivoted at I13 against the action of a tension spring Ililfor shifting a sleeve Il l similar in function to the above mentionedsleeve I58. Low and high speed gear trains I83 and 48I take drive fromshaft I48 for continuously rotating the final gears i132 and I83 of thetrains which are loose upon the input shaft of a reduction gear unit I84similar to unit I64. The gear shift in this instance may be similar tothat illustrated in Fig. 18 and previously described.

The output shaft of gear reducer I84 is shaft i I8 upon which is keyedsplit pulley I I? previously mentioned. This pulley through belt I I6,Fig. 29, drives split pulley H5 that is keyed to drive shaft I03 forimpeller chains I if! of the upper or folded card conveyor.

Just before a blade 33 reaches the position indicated in Fig. 7 the flapof the foremost envelope in the pack is drawn outward or opened up bymeans of a suction nozzle I86 on the end of a flexible hose I8!extending from a rotary valve I88, the rotating element of which isdriven by shaft I5 I. The opposite side of this valve is connected byflexible tubes I59 and I51 to the suction source I56 previouslydescribed. Suitable means are provided for advancing and retracting thenozzle 18S toward and away from proximity with the foremost envelope ofthe pack in properly timed sequence, one such means being illustratedsomewhat schematically in Fig. '7, where the nozzle I86 is carried in abracket I89 mounted on a lever I96 pivoted at IQI to a frame member, thelever swinging back and forth because of the action of a follower 592 onthe peripheral surface of a cam I53 which makes one turn for each Pcycle of the machine. Thus control of the flap opening action iseffected not only by the turning on and off of the suction through valveI88 but also by the back and forth movement of the suction nozzle.

The forward end of the pack of envelopes E bears at its lower edgeagainst a feeler lever I which is urged rearwardly by a tension springL96. As diagrammatically indicated in Fig. '7 this lever is pivotallymounted at IS'I on a convenient frame part. Below the pivot an arm ofthe lever extends between two micro-switches I38 and IE9, both of whichit is adapted to operate. The normal or low speed drive selected forconveyor belts 52 and 5'5 is somewhat below the speed necessary tomaintain the desired pressure of the pack against the feeler lever H5.When the pressure decreases sufficiently to enable spring 59%; actingupon lever I95 to operate switch I99, the high speed drive is broughtinto action by the energization of solenoid IE3 and it remains in actionuntil the pressure of the pack increases sufficiently to swing the lowerend of the lever over against switch I93. The circuit through thesolenoid is thereby broken and the lever I'll swings under the influenceof spring lit? to bring gear train i612 into operation for low speeddrive. An appreciable length of time is required to effect the swing ofthe lever from switch Ideto switch W8 and vice versa. Consequentlyhunting action is avoided.

if for any reason a blade 33 fails to take an envelope as it travelsupwardly the bare metal blade, which is grounded through wheel 34% andshaft 53 as indicated at 2% in Fig. 9, will strike flexible electricalcontact 236 and close a low voltage control circuit which operates arelay 252 that closes a high voltage circuit through a solehold 2% whichfunctions through a lever 22 i open switch 255 that deenergizes themotor 523 and applies a brake 223, Fig. S3, bringing the machine to aquick stop by means of electrical circuits which will he describedhereinafter. The operator may then determine and remove the of thedifiiculty, after which he may restart the machine manually by meanslater to be described.

The blade 33 the travels upwardly past the upper conveyor. Normally anenvelope will be supported upon it, as indicated at E in Fig. 6, but inany event, whether it carries an envelope or not it should take a foldedsheet, a four-page greeting card C for example, from the upper conveyor.

In order to permit a blade to enter the greeting card, the foremost pageof the card must drawn forward or opened up. This is accomplished bymeans of a suction nozzle Zil'i on the end of a flexible tube 2&8 whichextends to one stationary side of a rotary valve 239 driven by aft N58.The opposite stationary side of the .lve is connected through flexibleconductor 569 to union I58 and thence by tube lEi'I to the suctionreservoir its.

Suitable means is provided also for causing the suction nozzle Eel tomove back and forth away from and into the range of the foremost leaf ofthe card. Such a means is illustrated in Fig. 23, where 2 it is an armthat is pivoted at EU to a part of the frame of the machine. It

' swings back and forth in response to the action of a cam 2l2 carriedby shaft 5 58. At its lower end it carries a plate 253 which bearsagainst a roller on a spring pressed plunger 2M upon which is mounted abracket 21% to which the nozzle 21!? is clamped. Suction is applied tothe moving nozzle 2d? of course at precisely the correct time in thecycle and broken shortly before the blade 33 with its envelope reachesthe upper fold of the card.

Directly after the suction nozzle 20? becomes effective to draw out thelower edge of the foremost leaf of the foremost card, a pair of metalfingers 2|! and 2!? swing up in front of the second leaf of the foremostcard just prior to the time the blade 33 enters the space between thatleaf and the foremost leaf. These fingers are fixed with respect to apair of gears 2 l8 and 2l9 which mesh with a rack 22!). A gear 221! on ashort shaft 222 also meshes with rack 220. A bevel gear 223 on shaft 222meshes with a second bevel gear 223 on an oscillatable shaft 224provided with a crank arm 225, Figs. 19 and 24. Crank 225 is connectedby a link 226 with an arm 22! pivoted at 2H to a frame part, which isswung back and forth by a cam 228 on shaft 148. In order that thefingers 2H and 2!? may operate to the best advantage it is desirable tospread them apart more or less for cards of different sizes. Provisionfor such adjustment is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 19, where theshaft for gear H9 is shown mounted in a block 520 which is adjustableback and forth in a guide 52!. Of course movement of block 528 in itsguide while rack 220 remains stationary will change the angle of finger2H. That finger may be again disposed parallel to finger 2H however byloosening a setscrew 522, swinging finger 2|? around into parallelismwith finger 2H and again tightening setscrew 522.

Means is provided for stopping main motor 43 in the event that a bladefails to take a card C from the upper conveyor. Such a mechanism isillustrated in Figs. 6, 20 and 33. As indicated in Fig. 20 an envelopewhen taken by a blade extends substantially to the outer extremity ofthe blade. If a card is taken by the envelope laden blade," as isnormally the case, it extends somewhat beyond the extremity of the bladeand momentarily covers a metallic member 568 of the frame. When theblade fails to take a card a metal roller 230 on an arm 23! pivoted at232 to a bracket on the frame makes electrical contact therewith. Thearm 23! is connected into a low voltage control circuit which whenenergized operates a relay 233 subject to a switch 234 which is closedat the proper time in the cycle by a cam 235, Fig. 33. The opposite endof the circuit is also grounded, and hence if there is no card on ablade at the time switch 234 is closed, electrical contact will be setup between roller 23%! and frame member 508, thereby causing relay 233to be energized, which closes a high voltage circuit that energizessolenoid 23? and operates through a lever arm 238 to open a switch 239,thereby deenergizing motor Hi3 and applying brake 206, which stops themachine. The operator may then ascertain the source of the difficulty,correct it and restart the motor. Of course if the blade carries a cardthe low voltage circuit is not completed, and no stoppage takes place.

The machine may also be stopped automatically in the event that thesecond card at the forward end of the pack should adhere to the cardtaken by a blade. To this end there is provided an abutment 240 whichoverhangs several of the cards behind the foremost one of the pack. Thisabutment is a part of a chair shaped lever 24], illustrated in Fig. 6,which is pivoted at 242. Its upper end stands adjacent the plunger of anormally closed microswitch 243 which, if opened by the lifting of theabut ment 24!) through the upward motion of the second card of the pack,opens a control circuit to themotor I43.

.nut 259.

As previously stated the drive from shaft H8 to the upper conveyor maybe adjusted within certain limits by adjustment of the split pulleysii"! and H5 so as to compensate for different thicknesses of cards, duein some cases to accessories attached thereto. There is also providedmeans for shifting from low speed drive to high speed drive when thepressure of the pack behind the foremost card decreases to apredetermined extent and maintaining the increased speed for apredetermined number of cycles and then reshifting back to low speed,thereby avoiding any hunting action. A means for accomplishing thispurpose in conjunction with solenoid lid and associated partsillustrated in Fig. 5, is shown in detail in Figs. 27 and 28.

A feeler lever 245 is pivotally mounted in the frame at 245. It bears atone end against the foremost card of the pack near the upper edge of thelatter. A tension spring 24'! holds the feeler against the pack. Thespeed of the conveyor, being set somewhat below the speed necessary tomaintain the required feeding pressure in the pack, a decrease inpressure to a predetermined extent enables spring 251 to swing lever M5counterclockwise, causing an arm 248 rigid with the lever to operatethrough a link 242 to swing an arm 2% counterclockwise, therebyretracting a plunger 25! pivotally connected with the latter arm. Thisplunger is guided by a perforation 252 in a frame member. Its forwardend forms a stop for a pin 253 which projects radially from a cam 254that is loose upon a spindle 255 mounted in the frame. On one side ofthe cam 256 there is a fiber friction disk 256, which is thus disposedbetween the cam and a ratchet wheel 25'! that is also loose upon thespindle. A compression spring 258 surrounding the spindle bears againstcam 254, its pressure being adjustable by means of a knurled thumb 2% isa vertically reciprocable guided pawl which is given one reciprocationfor each cycle of the machine through the intermediacy of a rocking arm26f pivoted to a frame member at 262 and actuated by a cam 263 on shaftM8. Cam 25s has a low spot 264 which is normally in contact with aplunger 255 that is guided for reciprocation in the frame and ispivotally connected at 266 with the lower end of a crank 2t? forming. anoperating member for a microswitch 268. With the parts in the positionsshown in Figs. 27 and 28 switch 263 is open. Pawl 26B is continuouslyreciprocated, and ratchet 251 actuated,

but because of plunger 25! the intermittent motion of ratchet wheel 25'!is not communicated to cam 254 through the friction disk 256. Whenhowever the pressure in the pack of cards C decreases beyond apredetermined point, spring 241 causes plunger 25! to be retracted outof the path of pin 253. On the next reciprocation of pawl ace themovement of ratchet 257 is 001m municated to cam 254 through thefriction disk 256. This shifts plunger 265 to the left, Fig. 2'7,closing switch 265 and completing a circuit through solenoid I16 whicheffects a shift to high gear. Cam 254 continues a step by step rotationthe direction of which is indicated by the arrow in Fig. 28. The numberof teeth in the ratchet 25'! determines the number of cycles of themachine before the low spot 264 again engages plunger 255. If in themeantime increased pressure of the pack resulting from the high speed ofthe conveyor has overcome spring 241' to the extent necessary to againadvance plunger 25f to the illustrated position the rotation of thecaused to appraoch each other by idler rollers cam ceases the shift ismade back to the low 295 and 29'! which are disposed out of horizontalspeed gear train. If on the other hand the alignment as shown in Fig. 9.The two belts plunger 25! remains retracted a second revolutravel closetogether below idler roller 2ST so as tion of the cam takes place thehigh speed 5 to grip the collated units especially while the gear trainremains in action throughout the secblades 33 are being retracted intothe wheel by nd revolution. An approximately constant the box cam Hi5,Fig. 3. These belts are driven pressure is maintained in the pack ofcards witi by an endless chain 2% running over a sprocket out anyhunting action taking place. 298 on shaft i 58 and a sprocket 395 on ashaft Whenever the blade 33 fails to take either an m 38f which carriespulley 2% and also a gear 392 envelope or a card, it is desirable toplace an meshing with a mating gear 3&3 on a shaft 334 easily noticeablemarker on the blade, so that which carries pulley 292. Shaft MB carriesaddian attendant may supply the missing envel e tionally evel'gear 325,Fig. 5, which meshes or card while the collated sheets are traveling ywith asecond bevel gear 365 on the same shaft on the delivery table. Forthe purpose of acwith sprocket wheel 3%? that drives an endlesscomplishing this result I provide a holder 21% chain 368 which also runsover vertically spaced mounted near the top of the fixed plate led andsprockets 3% and til containing folded "sheets, for example red en- Therollers and 25'1? and the rollers 2st and velopes, the fiaps of whichmay be withdrawn tend to bring the belts 2% and 29! into close throughatriangular opening Zll on the side of 26 contact throughout theirvertical runs. The the holder facing the path of blades The eelts ofcourse are somewhat yieldable so that size of this opening is adjustableby means of the blades with their collated card and envelope anadjustable plate 269. A suction nozzle 2?? units may pass between them.Similarly the on the end of a flexible tube El3 connects withdisposition of rollers 296 and 28? at somewhat the suction pump led, asshown in Fig. 5. Ti

diiferent levels avoids binding action upon the nozzle is adapted to berocked back and forth b blades and collated sheet units as they pass alever Z'Hl which is connected with a link down ardly. that is movable upand down as will presently While the blades are being withdrawn fromappear. the collated units during their downward travel Worm wheel is?is provided with a series of there is a natural tendency for the unitsto move evenly spaced perforations equal in number to laterally alongwith the blades. This tendency the number of blades 33, being twelve inthe is overcome in my construction by gripper fingers illustrated case,in which are slidably mounted which are caused to engage each unitbefore pins 275, one only of which is shown in Fig. y the withdrawal ofthe blade begins and to con- Normally the pins We extend outwardly assh? vn 30 tinue the gripping action until the blade is cornin full linesin Fig. 25. Lever 2?! pivoted to the pletely withdrawn. This grippermeans is indiframe at 2'58 has angularly extending arm cated at M5, 395in Figs. 3 and 5. Two sets of 219 which rides upon the normallyprojecting grippers are mounted at opposite points on pins 215. In caseone or the other of the arms chains 388. Each set comprises a jaw 355car- EM and 238 is swung from its normal position ried upon andextending outwardly from the by the solenoid 2&3 or 237, as the case maybe, chain, and a jaw Elli hinged to jaw 3E5, the two a curved end 25E!on the lever comes into the jaws being biased apart by a coil springEll. As path Of the next pin 276 and cams it from the each jaw tlfitravels downwardly it bears against full line to the dotted line pOS i fFig. a straight vertical guide 3H3. As the hinged jaw When the wheel $85advances to the position in 31s t a l downwardly it engages th bgveledwhich the pin would normally support the rider upper end of an abutment3H! by which it is arm 21s, that arm falls because of the absencecamrned over into grippin position t jaw 31 of the pin. The link 28%then descends until The grip is maintained by the vertical part of rol r32 ides 0 the p p y Of 9, Card 1233 this abutment. As the hinged jawleaves the on shaft Hit, the roller being guided in its move- 55 b llower end of b t t 35g pring 3|? ments by a link 223 3 which swingsabout a pivot again opens the jaws. 235. When the high spot of the camraises li i The delivery-The delivery comprises two 3!, n th nk risesand wi a lei r shafts 32a and 32% disposed at opposite ends of p oted at253. the Opposite of the iev' the delivery table and carrying sprocketsover being pivotally connected to the lower end of which run four chains522, 323, 324i and 320.

link 2'15. Hence the absence of a pin under the sh ft 329 projectsthrough the casing where it is wider arm 2'48 causes the raising of link2375 which supplied with w rm wheel 326 keyed to the in turn swings thenozzle 212 into operative posishaft, this worm wheel meshing with a worm32'! ion o Wi h w h p f n nv op m wr carried by shaft set which isjournaled in hearfrom holder 259 so that it will be taken by the ings329 and 3% carried by a bar 331 that is blade 33 which lacks one or theother of the two perforated to receive shaft i 33 and is adapted toelements f a Collated will, that is to y an enswing about that shaftthrough a limited angle. velope or a card in the particular caseillustrated. The upper end of shaft 323, carries a bevel gear As each ofthe blades 33 descends on the 332 which meshes with a bevel gear onshaft down-going side of the wheel. 3 carrying with it 558. Near thelower end of bar 331 there is a a pair of collated sheets, folded edgesdown, it hole through which a stud 33 extends and is enters the spacebetween the upper ends of two threaded into one of several holes 335 inthe endless belts 2% and 2%! vertically disposed and machine frame.Several worm wheels 32% of running over pulleys 292 and 293respectively. different sizes are supplied with the machine, and Thelower end of belt runs over an idler the worm 3% may be caused to meshwith any while the lower end of belt 29?; runs over a small one of saidwheels when the stud 33 3 is mounted idler 29% disposed somewhat aboveidler 29 5. in the proper threaded hole. Thus different The upperportions of the belts are spaced apart speeds of rotation may beimparted to shaft 32!]. to give easy access between. them for the bladesEach of the chains 322, 323, 325, 325 carries a 33 with their collatedsheets, but the belts are 5 series of evenly spaced slender posts 331preferably mounted rigidly in blocks 1338 which are carried laterally bycertain links of the chain, see particularly Fig. 11. The chains movecon-- tinuously at a slow rate define pockets in the delivery conveyor.In order to vary the size of the pockets the chains are adjustablerelative to each other according to the diagrams of Figs. 15, 16 and 17.The posts of the four chains may be disposed in transverse rows asillustrated in Fig. 15. Secondly, the chains 323 and 324% may beadjusted forwardly or backwardly to dispose the posts on those chainshalf way between the posts on chains 322 and 325, as indicated in Fig.16. Thirdly, the chains 322 .and 324 may be moved backwardly from theirFig. 16 position to the Fig. 17 position to effect a. spacing onequarter that of Fig. 15.

On shaft 329 there is keyed a sprocket over which runs a chain Asprocket 5533 for this chain is mounted on shaft 32! and locked theretoby a key 3&0. The sprockets for chains 322, 323, 324 and 325 on shaft32s are loose upon that shaft, but the corresponding sprockets on shaft32| are keyed to the shaft as will presently appear. Shaft 32!. istherefore the drive shaft for the conveyor chains.

The lateral spacing between chains 322 and 323 is maintained constant,as is the spacing between chains 3% and 3255, but the two chains 322 and323 may be adjusted together laterally with respect to the chains 32 and325. Referring to Fig. 14, sprocket S ll for chain 325 is fastened toshaft 32! by elongated spline 3 w. Integral with this sprocket there isa grooved collar 342 into which a yoke 343 extends to hold the sprocketagainst movement axially of the shaft. Adjacent the sprocket s ll thereis a bushing t lt also keyed to the shaft by spline 3%. A sprocket 34-5is rotatably mounted on bushing 345. It is provided with three holes 3%,Fig. 13, placed forty-five degrees apart. A stud S ll may be projectedthrough one of these three holes into a tapped hole in sprocket 3M,thereby permitting adjustment of chain 324 with respect to chain 325.

A sprocket 3 58 similar to sprocket B ll is alsokeyed to shaft 325 inreversed arrangement. Its grooved collar 3% is engaged by a yoke on abar 350 which extends along the conveyor to shaft 32 i where it has ayoke for engagement with the sprocket on that shaft corresponding tosprocket 348. Bar 35% is operatively connected with a nut ii i which isthreadably mounted on a cross shaf 352 journaled in the side framemembers 353 and 35-3 of the conveyor. A. similar shaft carrying asimilar nut is journaled in the frame members near the opposite end ofthe conveyor. These two shafts are connected by an endless chain 355which runs upon like sprockets keyed to the two threaded shafts. Handwheel 355 on shaft 352 may be turned in one direction or the other tomove bar 353 laterally, thereby varying the position of spracket Sad andthe corresponding sprocket on shaft 328. A sprocket 351 similar tosprocket is angularly adjustable relative to sprocket ted by spacedholes in sprocket 35's and a stud 353 threaded into sprocket 348. Thecorresponding sprockets on shaft 3213 being locked together againstrelative movement axially, the rotation of hand wheel 356 causes thepair of chains s22 and 323 to be adjusted toward and away from the otherpair.

Chains 323, 32 i and 325 are provided with a considerable amount ofslack, as indicated in Fig. 13. An idler sprocket 359 engages each saidof speed. These posts chain, being mounted on the free end of an arm 360pivoted to a frame member and having a post 35! to which is secured atension spring 352 which maintains the chains under stress. The chain322 is somewhat longer in order to extend over a fixed idler sprocket363 and a movable idler sprocket 35s on the end of an arm 355 pivoted toa frame member and biased by a coil spring 36$ to maintain the chainunder tension. This latter arrangement enables the operator to liftchain 322 from its sprockets on shafts 329 and 32: and advance or retardit with respect to those sprockets for adjustment purposes in order toobtain the relation of pins shown in Fig. 17.

On shaft 326 there is secured an eight lobed cam 35'! in which there isa threaded hole 363. A four lobed cam 369 and a two lobed cam 376 arealso supplied with the machine. These latter cams are slotted, asindicated at 3?! and are provided with holes 312. The cam 361 may beused alone or in combination with one or the other of the cams 369 and319 for masking part of the lobes of cam 367. The additional cam may beadded or removed quickly, since the slot S71 may slide over the shaftfrom a lateral position and a stud may be projected through the hole 372and threaded into tapped hole 368.

A lever 3N having a right angled end 373 is pivoted at 315 to a lever56!! which is mounted on apivot 503 carried by the machine frame. Theposition of the pivot 375 may be adjusted by manipulation of the lever502. In order to make this adjustment relatively fine the arrangementdisclosed in Fig. 31 may be employed. Here an adjusting screw 5% extendswith clearance through a hole in frame member 565. It is provided with aknurled head 50% which bears against the frame member. The threaded endof the screw extends through a tapped hole in lever 5&2, and a coilspring 5%! biases the upper end of the lever toward the left. Obviouslymanipulation of this screw will swing the lever 5&2 through a small arc.Lever 314 is urged upwardly by a link 5315 pivotally connected betweenlever 3M and a lever 31? which is pinned to a shaft 318 that isoscillatably journaled in the frame. A coil spring 319 attached to theend of lever 311 tends to exert an upward pull on link 376, therebymaintaining the free end of lever 374 against the perimeter of cam 367,and one of the two cams 369 and am if used.

On the shaft 318 two forwardly extending arms are secured by means ofclamps 389 and 3 35 which carry at their free ends two relatively widetriggers 382 and 383 which are adapted to engage the posts 36 near theend of their upward travel around shaft 320. When however the low spotsin the cams permit the lever 3'! to rise temporarily the spring 379swings shaft 31%.- counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 9, which lifts thetriggers 382 and 383 and permits the posts to snap forward. This forwardsnapping of the posts is due to the fact that after the upper ends ofthe posts engage the triggers the blocks upon which they are carriedmove forward slowly with the chains which are pulled forward by thesprockets on shaft 325. The upper runs of the chains are taut, the slackbeing taken up in the lower runs by the springs 362 and 366. There forewhen the triggers release the posts they snap forward sharply.

After the collated units travel downwardly be tween the belts 290 and29! and are released by the opening of grippers 3E6, 311, they drop ontoa table 335 supported by the frame members 35-3

